Updating . .   

Biden weighs posting LA Mayor Garcetti to India -- President Biden is considering naming Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti to a high-profile ambassadorship, possibly India, people familiar with the matter tell Axios. Hans Nichols Axios -- 5/4/21

1 million cases to 75,000: California's stunning COVID recovery -- After the winter COVID-19 surge ravaged California and pushed intensive care units to their limits, data shows that the state and the Bay Area have made a dramatic and sustained recovery since the beginning of the year. Kellie Hwang in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/4/21

L.A. County set for major reopening as it hits yellow tier -- Moving into the yellow tier clears the way for the nation’s most populous county to unshackle its economy to the widest extent currently possible, meaning a swath of businesses and venues — including gyms, movie theaters, amusement parks, stadiums and museums — can operate at higher capacity. Luke Money, Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/4/21

LA, San Francisco move to California’s loosest COVID tier. Sacramento, Placer stay in red -- California health officials promoted four counties into looser levels of COVID-19 restrictions Tuesday morning due to vast improvement in infection numbers, including two of the state’s major urban hubs. Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/4/21

Biden aims for vaccinating 70% of adult Americans by July 4 -- President Joe Biden is setting a new vaccination goal to deliver at least one dose to 70% of adult Americans by July 4, the White House said Tuesday, as the administration pushes to make it easier for people to get shots and to bring the country closer to normalcy. Zeke Miller Associated Press -- 5/4/21

Despite dwindling demand for COVID-19 vaccines, Bay Area counties plan to ‘double down’ on new strategy -- Community pop-up clinics are getting most of the attention of Bay Area health officials. Maggie Angst, Aldo Toledo in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/4/21

STD cases have plunged during COVID - but not because people aren't having sex -- it’s because STD testing was pushed aside while everyone’s attention was on COVID-19. In other words: People were still getting STDs, but many of them didn’t know it. Erin Allday in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/4/21

Hit by higher prices for protective gear, doctors and dentists want insurers to pay -- Treating patients has become more expensive during the pandemic, and doctors and dentists don’t want to be on the hook for all the new costs. Rachel Bluthkaiser Health News in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/4/21

San Jose airport passenger traffic rises with more vaccinations -- Passenger trips at San Jose International Airport have begun to rise so far in 2021, offering the hope that the South Bay travel hub can begin to banish a dreadful 2020 travel year that was hobbled by the coronavirus. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/4/21

Bay Area restaurant hiring crisis: ‘I’ve never seen anything like this’ -- The Bay Area restaurant industry is facing a staffing shortage during the pandemic that its leaders say is unprecedented. Dishwashers are being asked to cook. Bartenders are bussing tables. And on busy nights, left with no other choice, owners are eliminating tables in already reduced-capacity dining rooms because they do not have enough wait staff. Jessica Yadegaran in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/4/21

School  

Extend the school year? Teachers say no, parents say meh. LAUSD retreats from its plan -- Los Angeles school officials recommend abandoning an effort to extend the next school year by two weeks in the face of opposition from employees and lukewarm parent support. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/4/21

Sacramento community colleges announce date for a full return to campus -- The Los Rios Community College District announced on Tuesday that more of its fall classes will be in-person, and the four-campus college will have a full return to campuses by spring 2022. Sawsan Morrar in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/4/21

Policy & Politics 

Recall backers raise more, but Newsom’s side has more cash in the bank -- The campaign to eject Gov. Gavin Newsom got off to an early financial head start, raising gobs of money from high-profile Republican luminaries, SoCal millionaires and irate voters, according to new campaign finance reports. Ben Christopher CalMatters -- 5/4/21

Garofoli: Provocative GOP ad maker tries to transform Gavin Newsom rival John Cox into a 'beast' -- The recall campaign against Gov. Gavin Newsom is about to take its first surreal advertising turn, and not surprisingly, Fred Davis — who once created a U.S. Senate ad in California starring a demonic sheep — is involved. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/4/21

Gavin Newsom is a ‘pretty boy,’ and California needs a ‘beast,’ GOP recall candidate says -- Hoping to convince voters that he can bring “beastly” solutions to California’s problems, Republican gubernatorial candidate John Cox kicked off a three day tour in Sacramento on Tuesday, appearing alongside a live, 1,000-pound California brown bear named Tag. Lara Korte in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/4/21

2 GOP California governor candidates try to impress voters -- California’s recall election now features “the beast” and a “compassionate disruptor.” Kathleen Ronayne Associated Press -- 5/4/21

Caitlyn Jenner positions herself as a ‘compassionate disrupter’ in first recall ad -- Caitlyn Jenner has released the first ad in her campaign to unseat Gov. Gavin Newsom, a gauzy, nearly three-minute production that positions her as a “compassionate disrupter” out to unseat the “elitists” who have stolen California’s former glory. Maria L. La Ganga in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/4/21

Jenner hits California nerve by siding with GOP on transgender athletes -- Caitlyn Jenner improved her national GOP bona fides with weekend comments embracing the party's prevailing view on transgender athletes — but now finds herself firmly at odds with a key California policy as she runs for governor. Carla Marinucci and Jeremy B. White Politico -- 5/4/21

California lawmakers demand: Where’s the COVID data? -- Rarely has the public been so captivated by government statistics as it has since the pandemic. COVID-19 data on infections, hospitalizations and fatalities determine where Californians can go, with whom they can associate and whether their businesses and other institutions can operate. Solomon Moore in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/4/21

Uber, Lyft have a California playbook to fight proposed U.S. rules on workers -- Uber, Lyft and other gig-economy companies face a new challenge from the Biden administration to their use of contract workers, but as they gear up for a fight in Washington they could turn to a lobbying playbook that helped them score a decisive win against California regulators last year. Tina Bellon Reuters -- 5/4/21

Open  

California Academy of Sciences to resume in-person NightLife after-hours series -- California Academy of Sciences is relaunching NightLife, its in-person after-hours series for people 21 and older, the organization announced Tuesday, May 4. Lily Janiak in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/4/21

Develop  

A new film studio is coming to Hollywood — and not a moment too soon for eager creators -- Although the pandemic emptied white-collar offices, sound stages have been a hot ticket as entertainment production keeps rising. Roger Vincent in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/4/21

Street  

Startling surge in L.A. bloodshed as COVID-19 fades: ‘Too many guns in too many hands’ -- At Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Dr. Brant Putnam has watched the intense weight of the COVID-19 pandemic finally begin to lift in recent months — only to be replaced by another, relentless stressor. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/4/21

Anti-Asian hate crimes have spiked in cities around the U.S., study finds -- Denny Kim was walking to dinner in Koreatown when he was attacked in February. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/4/21

After vandalism at Sacramento Vietnamese restaurant, customer tips 1,400% to cover repairs -- Tây Giang, a Vietnamese restaurant in south Sacramento, has allegedly been vandalized repeatedly throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Last week, a customer stepped up to help out. Benjy Egel and Ashley Wong in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/4/21

Clark: Anti-Asian hate crimes are being understated; here are some of the reasons why -- Kirin Macapugay, a professor of human services and social work for the San Diego Community College District who founded Asian Pacific Islander Community Actions, said some people may not report incidents because they simply do not want to draw attention to themselves, and others may feel reporting it to law enforcement is not going to help and may actually cause more harm. Charles T. Clark in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/4/21

Sacramento police reform panel says it hasn’t ‘been taken seriously’ by City Council -- A Tuesday punctuated by swift change to police brutality in Minnesota turned into a night that exemplified a journey unfulfilled for the Sacramento Community Police Commission. Rosalio Ahumada and Marcus D. Smith in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/4/21

Unstable Ground  

Cat 1pm -- In a major achievement years in the making, the U.S. earthquake early warning system will now be able to issue alerts to cellphone users anywhere on the West Coast of the continental U.S. beginning this morning. Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/4/21

Arellano: A town known for political fisticuffs is roiled by fight over mobile home parks -- Merli Albizures gripped a megaphone in late April, looked at the 80-plus people in front of her at Biancini Park in Bell, and felt a jolt of déjà vu. Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/4/21

Homeless  

'I felt like I won the lotto': Homeless veterans start new lives in S.F. apartments -- From her third-floor apartment in Mission Bay Margie Talavera can hear the foghorns blowing early in the morning. As a city native who spent six years in the Navy, the sound is a comfort. It’s as San Francisco as cable car bells ringing or sea lions barking at Pier 39. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/4/21

Rescue  

When a boat loaded with Mexican migrants sank, Navy men dived into the sea to save them -- In the waters off San Diego, the smuggling boats often cloak their cargoes of migrants under cover of darkness. Only the hum of the panga boat engines signals their approach to slumbering coastal neighborhoods. Brittny Mejia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/4/21

Sharks  

Drones show California’s great white sharks are closer — and more common — than you think -- Carlos Gauna surveys the wind-blown waves off a popular Santa Barbara County beach. It is a cold, gray afternoon and only a few people are in the water: a father teaching his son to surf, a lone man wading in the whitewash. Joe Mozingo, Al Seib, Carlos Gauna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/4/21

Also . . .   

Bay Area toll collectors drive off into the sunset -- His radio blaring R&B, his disco ball glittering, his body in perpetual motion, toll collector Sonny Hasme danced all day in his small booth as he accepted coins and bills from thousands of drivers crossing the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and the Carquinez Bridge. Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/4/21

California Policy and P  olitics Tuesday Morning  

In one county on California's North Coast, COVID is surging -- Humboldt County, whose biggest city, Eureka, is 230 miles north of San Francisco, recorded 137 new cases last week. That was the most since early February. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/4/21

‘It’s shocking.’ How inaccurate California death records obscure pandemic’s true story -- When California looks back on the COVID-19 pandemic — the most significant health crisis in modern history, with tens of thousands of deaths so far — medical researchers will find some of the most basic details remarkably incomplete. Jason Pohl, Ryan Sabalow, and Phillip Reese in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/4/21

Here’s how California’s new mask guidelines differ from the CDC’s -- Let’s say you’re walking down a busy street, or hiking on a popular trail, and see people coming the other way. The path you’re sharing is narrow and you’ll have to pass less than six feet from the other group. Do you need to put on a mask? According to the state of California, if you aren’t fully vaccinated, you do. Nico Savidge in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/4/21

Pandemic Led To 30% Increase In Deaths For Workers In Certain High-Risk Industries, Study Shows -- The pandemic accounted for a 30% increase in the deaths of essential workers in 10 industries in California during the first 10 months, according to a new study by U.C. Merced’s Community and Labor Center. Rich Ibarra Capital Public Radio -- 5/4/21

Vaccine  

COVID-19 vaccine is now available in L.A. County without appointments -- Officials say the additional walk-up availability is aimed at lowering a potential barrier to vaccine access — as not everyone has the time or technological resources to navigate online booking platforms. Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/4/21

Fresno County Is Diverting COVID Vaccine Due to Low Demand. Why Don’t People Want It? -- Although guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates there is no evidence that getting vaccinated causes problems with pregnancy – and notes that pregnant people are actually at increased risk for severe illness if they get COVID – Maldonado's feelings of uncertainty are stopping her from keeping an appointment. Alexandra Hall KQED -- 5/4/21

Open  

So good, so good! At SoFi Stadium, fans celebrate a real, live concert and a worthy cause -- Dave Grohl had just led Foo Fighters through a pummeling rendition of “My Hero” when he looked out at the thousands of people — real, live people standing right there in front of him — who’d been singing along at the top of their lungs. “Dude,” he said, grinning as he relished the moment. “I remember this.” Mikael Wood in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/4/21

Ransomware Attack   

No signs of relief in Scripps ransomware shutdown -- After fighting to regain control of its systems since the incident occurred on Saturday, Scripps said early Monday afternoon that it still had not resolved the technical terrorism that put its patient records, scheduling and other critical systems offline, forcing medical personnel in hospitals and other facilities to revert to paper for the time being. Paul Sisson in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/4/21

School  

LAUSD staff scraps plan to extend 2021-22 school year by two weeks -- One day ahead of a board discussion on the issue, Los Angeles Unified School District officials have scrapped a proposal to extend the 2021-22 school year by as much as two weeks, citing a lack of support among teachers, administrators and other stakeholders. The item is in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 5/4/21

COVID Economy  

San Diego County considers waiving restaurant fees to offset pandemic losses -- The county Board of Supervisors will consider waiving restaurant permit fees Wednesday in an effort to help struggling eateries recover from pandemic closures and restrictions. Deborah Sullivan Brennan in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/4/21

Policy & Politics 

Bay Area Democrats want to pass climate change laws. Can they deliver? -- Now that Democrats have full control of Washington for the first time in a decade, Bay Area lawmakers want to make sure they don’t walk away empty-handed. For many of them, that means seeing green. Tal Kopan, J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/4/21

Kamala Harris’ Senate successor is hanging out with AOC. Why experts say that’s a smart move -- Alex Padilla is a liberal. That’s become clear during his first three months as a U.S. senator. The California Democrat has embraced the Green New Deal, appearing with liberal star Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently to tout the plan. David Lightman in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/4/21

Jenner hits California nerve by siding with GOP on transgender athletes -- Caitlyn Jenner improved her national GOP bona fides with weekend comments embracing the party's prevailing view on transgender athletes — but now finds herself firmly at odds with a key California policy as she runs for governor. Carla Marinucci and Jeremy B. White Politico -- 5/4/21

Caitlyn Jenner sitdown with Hannity will be live event in Malibu -- Fox News host Sean Hannity is heading to Malibu this week for GOP gubernatorial candidate Caitlyn Jenner's first big TV appearance since she announced last month she will run in the California recall. Carla Marinucci Politico -- 5/4/21

California Republicans take donations from casino mogul despite sexual misconduct scandal -- When billionaire casino mogul and top GOP donor Steve Wynn was accused of a decades-long pattern of sexual misconduct in the midst of the #MeToo movement, elected officials across the country quickly distanced themselves from him. Seema Mehta, Maloy Moore in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/4/21

San Francisco set to approve reparations task force -- The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is slated to approve a 15-member African American Reparations Advisory Committee on Tuesday, which would make the city the first of its size to take such a concrete step to explore what reparations could look like for its Black residents. Shwanika Narayan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/4/21

Fists and spit fly during clash outside fundraiser for Orange County DA Todd Spitzer -- 'Agitators showed up with the explicit intent to use mob tactics to cause a problem and harass attendees,' said Spitzer's campaign. Tony Saavedra in the Orange County Register -- 5/4/21

Three Major Progressive Proposals Just Stalled In California’s Legislature -- California Assemblymember Alex Lee entered office late last year with a splash. At 25 years old, he’s the youngest state lawmaker elected to office in over 80 years. Shortly after being sworn in, he introduced a slew of ambitious proposals that would test California’s reputation as a spearhead of progressive policy. Scott Rodd Capital Public Radio -- 5/4/21

Walters: Eli Broad was a passionate school reformer -- Los Angeles’ most prominent civic leader, billionaire businessman Eli Broad, died last Friday, sparking an outpouring of praise for his many philanthropies. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 5/4/21

Street  

Two women in U-Haul held at gunpoint, handcuffed during traffic stop sue LAPD -- Film production coordinator Shibani Balsaver rented a U-Haul truck to move her possessions to a new apartment last year with the help of her friend Sheilnee Sen and set off driving east of Hollywood. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/4/21

Four Contra Costa prosecutors criticize DA’s delay in charging sheriff’s deputy in 2018 killing, claim no ‘meaningful’ investigation was done in two years -- In the wake of the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s decision last month to charge a sheriff’s deputy with manslaughter in a 2018 on-duty shooting, four county prosecutors have written a protest letter criticizing the process, claiming there was “no meaningful additional investigation or newly discovered evidence” in the two years between the fatal shooting of Laudemer Arboleda and the decision to file charges against Dep. Andrew Hall. Nate Gartrell in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/4/21

Asian American teen punched, called racial slurs during Bay Area youth basketball game -- An Asian American teenage boy was targeted with a racial slur and sustained a concussion when punched in a weekend basketball tournament against a San Francisco-based team, the boys’ parents told KPIX5. Cam Inman in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/4/21

Death draws attention to police putting suspects face down -- t’s common practice for police around the U.S. to place combative suspects face down and press down on their backs with hands, elbows or knees to gain control. Don Thompson Associated Press -- 5/4/21

Man who spent 17 years in prison for Orinda burglary is freed under new law -- Derric Lewis was sentenced to 27 years in prison after a 2004 crime: He rode BART to Orinda, walked into an occupied home and stole a purse, then swiped a specialized bicycle from a nearby shed. His total loot was worth about $425. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/4/21

California Supreme Court pulls back woman's death sentence because of judge behavior -- The state Supreme Court upheld a Los Angeles County woman’s murder convictions Monday for setting a fire that killed her four young daughters in their home while also trying to take her own life. But in a rare reversal, the court overturned her death sentence because of the trial judge’s repeated disparagement of the woman’s lawyer and her witnesses. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/4/21

Homeless  

Attorney demands Oceanside stop closing homeless encampments -- As the city of Oceanside prepares to clear out a second homeless encampment three weeks after removing about 40 people from another site, a San Diego attorney is crying foul and asking for a meeting. Gary Warth in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/4/21

Housing  

San Francisco's pandemic exodus looks like it's almost over -- But now that the city is reopening for business, with consistently low numbers of new cases and climbing vaccination rates, the flood of move-outs has slowed to near pre-pandemic levels. Susie Neilson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/4/21

Landlords and Tenants  

San Diego County to again consider short-term rent cap, limiting evictions -- The biggest point of contention is a provision that limits landlords’ ability to evict tenants for lease violations and, in general, being a nuisance. Phillip Molnar in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/4/21

Education  

O.C. professor on leave after berating student who calls police ‘heroes’ -- An adjunct professor at Cypress College has been placed on leave after challenging a student who praised the police as heroes in a recorded Zoom class that since has gone viral. Lila Seidman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/4/21

Hundreds of thousands of California students won’t take statewide standardized tests this spring -- Hundreds of thousands of California students this spring will not be taking the state’s annual Smarter Balanced standardized tests, an EdSource survey of the state’s largest districts shows. Sydney Johnson EdSource -- 5/4/21

Environment  

California could get 600,000 acres of new federally protected wilderness -- California could get 600,000 new acres of federally protected wilderness under legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate recently. The designation would ensure the lands remain free of development, vehicles and commercial activity. Alex Wigglesworth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/4/21

Surprising tsunami triggers may lurk off California’s coast, scientists say -- Although California’s most dangerous tsunamis come from thousands of miles away, scientists say they’ve pinpointed a wave trigger that’s much closer to home. Earthquakes along strike-slip faults can cause potentially dangerous waves in certain contexts, a new model shows — and such faults do exist right off parts of the Golden State’s shores. Amina Khan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/4/21

Sen. Alex Padilla moves to protect 1 million acres of California land -- U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla introduced legislation Monday, May 3, that would protect and improve access to 1 million acres of land and 500 miles of rivers across the state, including more than 139,000 acres and 45 miles of wild and scenic rivers in Southern California. Steve Scauzillo in the Orange County Register Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/4/21

Border  

A boat packed with 32 people shows how migrant smugglers shifted to the sea -- The sinking of a trawler-like boat loaded with people in search of a better life in the United States was the latest evidence that tougher border security is driving smugglers into the ocean. Wendy Fry in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/4/21

Climate  

SDG&E Walks Back Claim it Delivers 45 Percent Renewable Energy -- SDG&E has a longer road ahead in reaching goals recently announced to drastically lower planet-warming gases the company’s products emit into the atmosphere. MacKenzie Elmer Voiceofsandiego.org -- 5/4/21

Water  

Marin County water district to consider more drought restrictions this week -- After recently approving the Bay Area’s first widespread restrictions on water customers amid worsening drought conditions, officials with the Marin Municipal Water District will vote Tuesday on imposing more. Jessica Flores in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/4/21

Also . . .   

Apple’s ‘walled garden’ faces Epic attack in app store trial -- Apple’s lucrative app store was alternately portrayed as a price-gouging monopoly and a hub of world-changing innovation during the preamble to a trial that may reshape the technological landscape. Michael Liedtke Associated Press -- 5/4/21

Sacramento mayor, council members seek release of Iraqi refugee Omar Ameen -- Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg and city council members are taking up the cause of Iraqi refugee Omar Ameen, expressing “grave concern” that he remains in federal custody more than a week after a Sacramento judge refused to allow his extradition and ordered him released from jail. Sam Stanton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/4/21

Eli Broad was an ‘unreasonable’ boss. People loved working for him -- Soon after a young Bruce Karatz joined Kaufman & Broad in 1972, he was called up to the office of Chief Executive Eli Broad and told to scout out a property the home builder was considering buying in Riverside. Laurence Darmiento in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/4/21

‘I see nothing but opportunity.’ Meet L.A. Times’ new top editor Kevin Merida -- Kevin Merida will become executive editor of the Los Angeles Times in June. For the last five years, Merida has been a senior vice president at ESPN and editor in chief of the Undefeated, the sports giant’s digital platform that delves into the intersection of race, culture and sports. Meg James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/4/21